Air lead: relation to lead in blood of black school children deficient in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

Abstract

Forty-four black children at two elementary schools within 0.7 mile of a battery plant had significantly higher (P < .001) concentrations of lead in their bloods (34.1 +/- 9.7, micrograms per 100 milliliters, mean +/- standard deviation) than 122 students (26.3 +/- 7.1) at seven schools 1 to 3 miles distant; 5 months later there was a comparable difference between red cell lead values (54.1 +/- 18.5 versus 37.4 +/- 12.6). Among the blacks, those deficient in glucose-6-phosphate dehydro-genase had a higher (P < .005) concentration of lead in the blood after correction for anemia (32.9 +/- 9.7) than the nondeficient (25.7 +/- 8.8), and a higher concentration in the red cells (47.3 +/- 14.7 as compared to 35.6 +/- 15.8, P < .001); the enzyme effect was independent of geographic location.